Who I Am
by Julia451
Summary: Each of the six Avengers defines themselves.


I am the man of the mind.

I am the one whose knowledge makes the impossible possible. I am the scientist who turns abstract theories into solid reality. I am the explorer ever in search of new ideas and the inventor who brings ideas to life. I am the detective who solves the mysteries of the universe; I've learned how to bend the physical materials and forces of the world to my will and use them to my advantage. I can do amazing things with energy, motors, weapons, and metals – a power source to protect my heart, metal to protect my body, and weapons to protect what I value, combined into powerful armor that allows me to surpass the limits of my simple human form. My mind is my strength and my superpower – no matter what else I may lose, this can never be taken from me.

I am no hero. I am the warrior who chooses the battles that he fights and defends what he values. I am the free agent who answers to no one but his own conscience. I live by the code of life and stop all those who threaten life and freedom. I am the trader willing to pay the ultimate price because the result is worth it to me, including on the battlefield.

I am the businessman whose intelligence and skill is sufficient to succeed honestly without resorting to fraud, deceit, or faking reality in any way whatsoever. I am ashamed of nothing that I am, and I hide nothing I do. Just as I don't lie in matters of business, I don't deny reality in any other matters.

I am the man who can never lose nor forget his identity because he never denies his identity. Reality is indisputable. A is A, and I am Iron Man.

* * *

I am the man out of time.

I was once the naïve, wide-eyed idealist who dreamed of being a hero, wild with desperation to prove himself. I was the unimposing shepherd boy judged too small and weak to be a warrior until I was chosen to wield a great power not for my outward appearance but for my heart. I am the super soldier they made to protect life, liberty, and happiness and destroy those who threaten them. I am the superman my arch enemy tried to become. I gained everything I ever wanted – the opportunity to protect and serve and the power to do it.

I am a soldier who was once prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, never considering that something more painful than death was waiting for me. I am a stranger in a strange land who left behind everything and everyone he knew and loved.

I have nothing else left but my desire to do good, to protect those whose peace and happiness I can never know. I have a hatred for all those who bully, abuse, and harm others that seventy years of sleep did not erase. I am the man who cannot stop fighting as long as evil exists.

I am supposed to be the embodiment of truth, justice, and freedom. I am supposed to be the leader of a new army. I will try to live up to my duty, to uphold the values I had when I first went to war, and to keep the promise I made to remain a good man no matter what happens. May my heart be as strong as my body and I be worthy of the name my friends called me so long ago. For them, I am Captain America.

* * *

I am the master of lightning.

I hold the power of a thunderstorm in my hand. I strike with the fury of a tempest, attack with the strength of a hurricane. The wind and sky bend to my will. I am the one chosen to wield the mighty hammer Mjolnir, the weapon that no defense can withstand, that no other is worthy to possess. I am the legend humans spoke of centuries ago. I am the one who smashes obstacles and shatters barriers, who can knock down anything or anyone who opposes him. I am the force that can never be stopped, the might that can never be conquered, the spirit that can never be broken.

I am the prince of thunder. I am the proud son who took his birthright for granted. I made the mistake of learning to tame the lightning in my fist before I learned to tame the thunder in my veins. I am the fool who thought he was entitled to honor before learning that honor had to be earned. I saw it as my right to destroy, not my duty to defend. I am the blind man who has been blessed with sight. I see now that a warrior is not one who desires war but who is not afraid to face it when it comes. The noblest warrior fights not out of hatred for an enemy but out of love. I have learned to love. I am proud not of what I can destroy but of what I love, not that I fight but of why I fight. I have traded the code of destruction for the code of life. I was born a prince, and I will earn the right to be king.

I am the proud protector of the Earth, defender of all life, enemy of all destruction and injustice, and heir to the throne of Asgard. I am Thor!

* * *

I don't know if I am a man trapped with a raging beast, or a raging beast trapped inside a man.

I am the professor who played with fire and got burned, who will bear the scars forever. I live on a leash that, if I strain against it too much, will break and send me running into danger with no way out. I have been robbed of my manhood, of the freedom to fight, forced to be forever weak and submissive lest I surrender to my ruthless master against whom resistance is futile. I am the slave who must either submit or suffer the consequences, fulfill my impossible assignment or endure the punishment. I have no escape.

I am the nomad who must wander from place to place with no rest, no peace, and no end. I am the fugitive hiding from an endless tide of pursuers and from himself, fleeing enemies without and one within. I am the fool who once thought he could hide from life behind the muzzle of a gun when he should have known that would be too easy.

I am the scientist who learns from his failures. I am the man who refuses to surrender to pain any longer. I am the doctor who loves life and tries to relieve the suffering of others instead of feeling sorry for himself. I am a fighter who no longer runs from his enemy but faces him head on. I have learned that the only way to master one's emotions is not to deny them. I feel. I let the torrents of rage and pain and sorrow and loneliness and frustration fall on me until my body became so accustomed to them that it no longer acknowledges them with a response. My heart feels it, but my pulse doesn't.

The beast has gone to sleep. I am the master who awakens it. I am more than beast and more than man. I am the Hulk.

* * *

I am the huntress.

No quarry can escape me. I am the spy you will never see before I see you. I am the master of disguise who can fool the greatest trickster in the universe. I am the cold, calculating mind of a machine within the warm flesh and blood of a human. My face is a mask that never cracks, a shield that never drops. My eyes reveal nothing and see everything. My voice conceals the truth as my ears uncover it. My body feels no pain and shows no mercy. I strike before you have suspected you should fear me and win before you knew the battle began. No functions of my mind or body are wasted on fear or pain. My body is invincible; my mind, unbreakable; my soul, invulnerable; my heart, impervious to all outside forces – they have to be.

I have mastered my mind and body in every way, turning them into precise tools incapable of error. I am my own master. I used to be a servant for evil. I should have been destroyed long ago; I would have destroyed me if I had the chance. I was stopped by someone stronger than I, someone who didn't fear me enough to destroy me. I decided I wanted that same fearlessness, that same strength. Now I am a soldier. I fight to right the wrongs I committed. I erase my past, through my deeds and through my mastery of my memory. I feel no shame, no pain, only a burning desire to stop all those who hunt me and mine. I beat them to it each time. I go into battle knowing danger and odds are irrelevant.

I am the proof that size is no indicator of strength. I am the lesson in underestimating your opponent. Beware my sting, for I bring death to all enemies who cross my path. I am the Black Widow.

* * *

I am the predator.

No prey can hide from me. I am a simple human with one special ability: sight. I am the archer whose eyes see anything and everything. I see your every move before you make it. I see you coming before you see me. I see where to strike before you know where to run. I aim an arrow and see its exact path before I fire. I pull my bowstring and see every factor I need to account for to hit my target. If I see it, I can't miss it.

I have seen things I wish I hadn't seen. I have looked pure evil in the eye and felt it invade my soul. I saw my friends and allies fall by own hand. I saw myself become a tool for destruction. I was powerless to do anything but watch as a monster used my body for his own horrible ends. I woke with images in my mind I can never erase. I was blinded by shame and rage. I saw the past I swore I would leave behind forever creeping up on me, the darkness I thought I had defeated rising up again.

I now see the path that will lead me to redemption in my own eyes. I have shed my coat of self-pity and will not look back. I have sprouted wings and found the strength to fly. Wherever my prey tries to hide, I will swoop down on him before he ever knows I'm coming. I will be ready so I won't miss, no matter what tricks he pulls. I will show him that he should have seen that targeting me was a mistake. I am no man's puppet. I am Hawkeye.


End file.
